“What [private industry does] is what Revere needs to be able to do with our health insurance, or we’re going to go broke trying to pay for it,” he said.

The mayor pointed out that 11 city unions would have to agree unanimously in order for changes to be made in health insurance the city provides to its employees.

That being the case, it is a near impossibility for the city to change anything about its health insurance because that type of unanimity is virtually impossible when 11 unions are involved.

What the mayor is trying to do at the state level is to get the state to give mayors and city and town managers the power to negotiate health insurance directly.

This type ofunilateral power, according to the mayor, will allow him to bargain for more economical programs with providers and to change some aspects of the coverage, such as co-pays, without deviating from the basic 80-85 percent contribution the city supplies for its public employees.